Infant carrier



April 18, 1944. B. M. OBRIEN INFANT CARRIER Filed Jan. 1. 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gig/103mm B Z ATTdRNEY April 18, 1944. a. M. OBRIEN INFANT CARRIER Filed Jan. 1, 1945 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HA 0 MN ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 18, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

2,346,989 INFANT CARRIER 1 v Bertha M. OBrien, New York, N. Y. Application January 1, 1943, Serial No. 471,085

3 Claims.

This invention relates in general to a carrier or holder for a child and more particularly to a convertible easel, mobile, and suspensory carrier for a child.

Among the objects of the present invention it is aimed to provide a pack or envelope for an infant which will securely maintain an infant in an envelope or pack in association with suspensory elements for picking up the child carrying pack and attaching it to the back of an attendant, mother or the like.

It is still further an object of the present invention to provide a pack or fabric wrap with means for effectively securing the child in said pack or wrap and a frame associated with means for converting the combination into an easel. shoulder, suspensory or mobile carrier for a child.

These and other features, capabilities and advantages of the invention will appear from the subjoined detail description of one specific embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective showing the frame and wrap assembled ready for receiving a child either to carry the resulting pack by hand or on the back of the attendant or mother.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the pack with the awning extended.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmental detail in side elevation of the upper end of the frame.

Fig. 4 is a perspective showing the pack in position on the back of the attendant or mother.

Fig. 5 is a perspective of the pack without the child showing the same in easel forming position.

Fig. 6 is a plan of the wrap before being at tached to the frame.

Fig. 7 is a fragmental front elevation of the upper part of the frame.

The child-carrying device constituting the present invention consists essentially of a frame I and a flexible wrap or envelope 2 shown stretched out in plan view in Fig. 6 before being attached to the frame I.

The wrap 2 may be composed of heavy canvas or the like strong, tear-resisting fabric and as shown preferably consists of a back supporting portion 3, an upward extending flap 4, two laterally extending flaps 5 and 6 and a downwardly extending flap I. The flap 4, is preferably rectangular in shape and is provided in the present instance with two side loops 8 and 9 extending from the ends of its outer free edge I0, and two other side loops I I and I2, the loop I I extending approximately from the intersection between the lateral edge I3 of the flap 4 and the inclined edge I4 of the flap 55- J the back portion 3, the free portion being tapered 5, and the loop I2 extending approximately fro the intersection between the lateral edge I5 of the flap 4 and the inclined edge I6 of the flap Ii. The loops 8, 9, I I and I2 are also preferably composed of heavy canvas or the like strong, tear-resisting fabric.

Adjacent the outer parallel edges I1 and I8 of the flaps 5 and 6 and on the outer face thereof there are formed in the present instance, the loop forming strips I9 and respectively, which. are intermittently attached to the outer face of the wrap 2 to form a plurality of successive loops to cooperate with one another and the strands 2| and 22 of the cord or tong 23. The strips I9 and 29 are preferably composed of the same material as the wrap 2. The cord 23 may also be composed of some stout, tear-resisting material such as the material of the loops 8, 9, II and I2 or, in the interest of ornamentation, the cord 23, loops 8, 9, I I and I2 may all consist of some suitable fibrous cord composed of cotton or cellulose fibers or the like. i

2 is also providedwith a patch pocket Z I'for'med by the patch secured to the outer face of the wrap 2 in the usual way by sewing or the like and, in the present instance on the outer face of the flap B.

Preferably also as shown the cord 23 is laced through the two loops I2I and I22of the strip I23 secured to the outer face of the'wrap 2 to form the loops I2I and I22 which strip I23 is preferably composed of the same material as the stripsflil and 20.

On the outer face of the wrap 2 there also are; preferably secured the ends of long fastening. bands 25 and 26 such ends being secured in the} present instance to the upper part of the back,

may be portions of one and the-"same band as;

shown. The free ends of the short bands 21 and 23 in the present instance are provided with buckles 29 and 38 respectively to cooperate with the free ends of the long bands 25 and 26 respectively. Preferably the bands 25, 26, 21 and 28- are composed of the same material as the wrap 2 To the wrap 2- and preferably to the upper part of the back por-* such as strong durable canvas.

tion 3 there is attached the large patch 3I, see particularly Fig. 1, the upper edge of which is in the present instance secured'to the inner face of Preferably as shown the outer face of the wrap in shape and terminating in a channel forming hem or looped end 32 formed by folding a part of the free end over upon itself to form a channel for receiving the cord 33, one end of which is attached to the end of the seam 34 which attaches the patch 3| to the back portion 3, the other end of the cord 33 being free to cooperate with the free end of the cord 35, the other end of which cord 35 being in turn secured, in the present instance, to the other end of the seam 34. The cords 33 and 35 may be composed of the same material as the wrap 2 but also in the interest of ornamentation may be composed of the same material as the cord 23.

In the present instance the wrap 2 just described is attached to the frame I now to he described to form either an easel pack, shoulder pack, suspensory pack, or mobile pack.

The frame I is preferably four-sided having two side walls 36 and 31, a lower wall or foot rest 38 and an upper wall 33. The distance between the upper ends of the walls. 36 and 31 where they engage the wall 39 is preferably greater than the distance between the lower ends of the walls 36 and 31 where they engage the lower wall 38. Preferably also to contribute in forming an awning the upper wall 39 is inclined upwardly in a forward direction as shown.

To make possible rolling or wheeling the frame I along the ground when desired, there are provided two wheels 48 and 4| rotatably mounted on the shaft 42 extending through the free lower portions of the side walls 36 and 3! below the lower wall or foot rest 38. The shaft 42 preferably is of one dimension throughout, and not only is it anchored in position but also the wheels 48 and 4| by the wooden pins 43 extending through the end portions of the shaft 42 beyond the wheels 48 and 4| as shown in the manner of cotter pins.

Just below the rear end portion of the wall 38 there is provided a shaft 44 extending through the rear portions of the side walls 36 and 31. The end portions of the shaft 44 extend beyond the side walls 36 and 31 and fixedly secured thereto there are the arms 45 and 46, such arms anchoring the shaft 44 in place. The arms 45 and 46 are secured to one another by the cross bar 41 near the outer free ends of the arms 45 and 46 which cross bar 41 will serve as a handle for moving the frame I around on its wheels 48 and 4|. Rotatably mounted on the shaft 44 along the inner face of the side walls 36 and 31 there are provided the awning supporting arms 48 which are anchored in position on the shaft 44 by the wooden pins 49, extending through the shaft 44 along the inner faces of the short arms 48, in the manner of cotter pins. The short arms 48 are preferably much shorter than the side walls 36 and 37 as shown. At the end portions of the arms 48 there are provided the recesses 50 to receive the loops 8 and 9 of the flap 4 for supporting the awning flap 4 in position as shown in Fig. 2.

To serve as a hand grip for receiving the hand of the attendant when it is desired to carry the frame I around, there is formed the opening For positioning the arms 45 and 46 either in closed position, that shown in Figs. 1 and 4, in easel form position, that shown in full lines in Fig. 5 or in mobile position, that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, there are provided the pins 52, only one being shown for extending through the openings 53 formed in the arms 45 and 46 just beyond the shaft 44 and into whatever set of openings 54, 55 or 56 are in alignment with the openings 53, see Fig. 3. In other words, when the pins 52 in the openings 53 are in alignment with the openings 54 and extend into the openings 54, the arms 45 and 46 are anchored in closed position, that shown in Fig. 1. When the pins 52 in the openings 53 are in alignment with the openings 55 and extend into the openings 55, the arms 45 and 46 are in easel forming position, that shown in full lines in Fig. 5, and when the pins 52 in the openings 53 are in alignment with the openings 56 and extend into the openings 56, the arms 45 and 46 are anchored in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, for wheeling the frame around on its wheels 40 and 4|.

In assembling, the wrap 2 initially is preferably laid out fiat with the inner side facing upward and then assuming that a shoulder forming pack is desired, the arms 45 and 46 are secured flat against the outer face of the side walls 36 and 31 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, by causing the pins 52 in the openings 53 first to register with the openings 54 and then to extend into the openings 54, the arms 48 folded down inside of the inner faces of the side walls 36 and 31, and the frame I then placed upon the inner face of the wrap 2. Thereupon the flap 4 is folded over upon the inner face of the wrap 2 into the position shown in Fig. l, thereupon the flap 1 folded over upon the inner face of the wrap 2, preferably not around the lower wall 38, but clear of it as shown in Fig. 2, and thereuponthe flaps 5 and 6 folded up across the side walls 35 and 31 respectively, preferably not around the arms 45 and 46 but clear of them as shown in Fig. 1. When assembly has proceeded so far, the pack is now ready to receive the infant. The infant may then be placed on its back on the inner face of the wrap 2 with its legs straddling the flap 3|, and its feet inside of the flap 1, then the cords 33 and 35 may be drawn snugly around the waist of the infant and the ends of the cords 33 and 35 tied together to form a bow, thereupon the flap i may be folded up over the infants legs, and the flaps 5 and 6 in turn folded over the flap l, and the cords 2| and 22 brought up around the outside of the lower wall 38 and laced in the loops of the strips I9 and 28 and the ends thereof tied together into a bow at the upper end as shown in Fig. 5. In this manner the infant will be effectively secured in the wrap 2, and the hand receiving opening 5| will be free to be engaged by the attendant or mother for carrying the pack around by hand, and similarly the bands 25 and 26 will be free, extending beyond the arms 45 and 46 to be slipped over the shoulders of the attendant or mother. The buckles 29 and 30 are of course provided to enable the attendant to adjust the bands 25 and 26 to her comfort.

If the attendant, however, on the other hand wishes to set the combination on the ground while holding the infant, it will only be necessary for her to remove the pins 52 in the openings 53 from the openings 54 and swing the arms 45 and 46 around to the position where the pins 52 will align with the openings 55 and then extend the pins 52 into such openings 55 to form the easel forming pack shown in Fig. 5 when the combination will rest upon the free ends of the arms 45' and 46 and the wheels 40 and 4|.

In the position of, both the shoulder forming pack as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and, the easel forming pack, that shown in full lines in Fig. 5, the weight of the wrap 2 and infant will be borne in large part by the loops and 2 looped over the pins 52. For this reason not-onlyis it necessary to have the loops II and I2 formed of a strong durable wear-resisting material, but also to predetermine the diameter of the pins 52. In actual practice, it has been found that with an average infant, up to one year of age for which this pack is particularly adapted, averaging not over 21 pounds and allowing 5 pounds for the pack, including the frame I and wrap 2, a wooden pin of about inch in diameter and loops composed of stout canvas today extensively used for sailing vessels, will serve admirably.

When the pack is converted into easel forming position, and it is desired to shield the face of the infant from the sun, it is then only necessary to swing the short arms 43 upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2, and to draw the flap 4 out over the rear edge of the wall 39. stretch it over the wall 39, and slip the loops 8 and 9 into engagement with the recesses 50 adjacent the free ends of the short arms 48, when the flap 4 will cooperate with the arms 48 to form an awning.

In turn when it is desired to wheel the pack, either with the awning extended as shown in Fig. 2, or withdrawn as shown in Fig. 1, it is only necessary to remove the pins 52 to free the arms 45 and 46, swing the arms 45 and 46 upwardly into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 until the pins 52 align with the openings 56, and then extend the pins 52 into the openings 56. In this position, the cross bar 41 may be engaged by the attendant and the pack wheeled around on its wheels 40 and 4|. Preferably before swinging the arms 45 and 4B upwardly, it is desirable to free the loops H and I2 from the pins 52 and then after the arms 45 and 46 have been swung up and fastened into the extended dotted line position shown in Fig. 5, the loops H and 12 then slipped over the pins 52 from the inner or under side of the arms 45 and 46 that is, not across the same side of the arms 45 and 46 as is shown in Fig. 1.

In the interest of dispensing with the so-called war essential materials such as metals, the present combination is composed essentially of fabric and wood, the wrap 2 including its loop forming strips I and being composed of fabric, the cords 2|, 22, 33 and 35 of cotton or cellulose fibers or the like, and the frame I including its pins 43, 49 and 52, all of wood.

In the interest of speed, to enable the attendant quickly to remove the infant from the pack when it is desired, the combination of loop forming strips I9 and 20 and cords 2| and 22 permits the attendant after untying the bow merely to engage the cords 2| and 22 at the lower edges of the flaps 5 and 6 and draw the same downwardly when the cords will quickly slip out of the loop forming strips 19 and 20 to free the flaps 5 and 6 from one another.

In actual practice, since the present combination is particularly adapted for the infant before it arrives at the walking stage, that is up to one year of age, when its over-all length from head to heels, averages about 20 inches, excellent re sults are achieved when the distance from the inner face of the forward edge of the wall 39 to the inner face of the foot rest or lower wall 38 is about 21 inches in length, and the distance from the inner face of the wall 36 to the wall 31 varies from about 9- inches at the bottom to about 10 inches at the top.

It is of course obvious that the wrap 2 withrier'for an infant, when it will only be'necessary when it is subsequently desired to convert the same into an easel or mobile forming infant carrier to attach the wrap to the frame I in the manner-aforesald It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to the details of construction without departing from the general spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a frame having two side walls, a cross bar connecting the lower ends of the side walls, a second cross bar connecting the upper ends of the side walls, a removable wrap having a back portion, two side flaps and an end flap, fastening mean secured to the inner face of the back portion for effectively securing an infant to the back portion, means for connecting the upper ends of the back portion to the upper ends of said side walls, the end flap bein folded over the feet and lower body of the infant but inside of, and adjacent to, said lower cross bar to relieve said connecting means and enable the weight of the infant to be mainly supported by said lower crossbar and the side flaps being foldable around the side walls and over the end flap with their lateral edges disposed adjacent to one another in folded position, and means for securing the side flaps in place when folded over said end flap.

2. The combination of a frame having two side walls, a cross bar connecting the lower ends of the side walls, a second cross bar connecting the upper ends of the side walls, a removable wrap having a back portion, two side flaps and an end flap, fastening means secured to the inner face of the back portion for effectively securing an infant to the back portion, means for connecting the upper ends of the back portion to the upper ends of said side walls, the end flap being folded over the feet and lower body of the infant but inside of, and adjacent to, said lower cross bar to relieve said connecting means and enable the weight of the infant to be mainly supported by said lower crossbar and the side flaps being foldable around the side walls and over the end flap with their lateral edges disposed adjacent to one another in folded position, loops on the outer faces of saidside flaps adjacent their lateral edges, a, cord secured near its middle to the outer face of said back portion having two extensions adapted to be drawn around the outside of the lower cross bar and over the end flap and interlaced with one another and with the loop on said side flaps to secure the three flaps so folded over the infant, and shoulder receiving bands secured to the outer face of said back portion for receiving the shoulders of the attendant when the device is used as a shoulder forming infant carrier.

3. The combination of a frame having two side walls, a cross bar connecting the lower ends of the side walls, a second cross bar connecting the upper ends of the side walls, a removable wrap having a back portion, two side flaps and an end flap, fastening means secured to the inner face of the back portion for effectively securing an infant to the back portion, means for connecting the upper ends of the back portion to the upper ends of said side walls, the end flap being folded over the feet and lower body of the infant but inside of, and adjacent to, said lower cross out the frame I, could be used as'a shoulder carbar to relieve said connecting means and enable the weight of the infant to be mainly supported by said lower crossbar and the side flaps being foldable around the side walls and over the end flap with the lateral edges disposed adjacent to v one another in folded position, means for secur ing the side flaps in place when folded over said end flap, a bracket having two arms, a cross bar 

